Hawranick, Slayden Lead No. 5 Tech Past Villanova, 19-1

Yellow Jackets improve to 5-0 on the season.

ATLANTA - Andy Hawranick went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI and Jeremy Slayden added four hits and three RBI to lead fifth-ranked Georgia Tech (5-0) to a 19-1 win over visiting Villanova (3-2) on Saturday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.

Tech starter Brian Burks (1-0) earned his first win of the year after working five solid innings. The right-hander held Villanova to one run on five hits and two walks while tying a career-high with eight strikeouts.

Hawranick tied his career high with three hits, including a single, double and home run, and established a new personal best with four RBI. Tech pounded out a season-high 17 hits in the game, including a 4-for-6 performance from Slayden and two hits each from Wes Hodges and Brandon Boggs.

The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on Kelly Pickel's RBI single, but Tech responded with 15 unanswered runs in their next five times at bat to seize control of the game.

Tech scored three runs in the second inning with five walks and just one base hit, and added four more runs in the second inning on Hawranick's three-run homer and Jeremy Slayden's RBI single.

Two more runs in the fourth inning on Tyler Greene's first home run of the season made the score 9-0.

The Yellow Jackets added three more runs in the fifth inning on a two-run single from Micah Owings and a RBI hit from Hawranick to extend the lead to 12-1. A three run sixth inning, including a pair of bases loaded walks and a sacrifice fly from Ryan Stanley made the score 15-1.

After failing to score in the seventh inning, Tech scored four more runs in the eighth, including a two-run double from Slayden, to provide the final 19-1 margin.

Villanova starter Jake Wolff (1-1), one of five Wildcat pitchers in the game, took the loss after allowing three runs in 1.1 innings.

Georgia Tech and Villanova will conclude the three game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. Live statistics will be available on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com.